In many instances, it is desirable to ventilate a garage space that is enclosed by the use of a conventional overhead garage door. Such garage doors typically comprise a plurality of hingedly joined sections with each of the sections having a first and a second end and being supported at their ends in a garage door support and moveable between open and closed positions. Typically, the garage door is opened and closed by movement in the garage door support by a garage door opener, which may be of various well-known types. The garage door may also be opened and closed manually.
Typically, attempts to ventilate a garage space have comprised the partial closure of the garage door. This not only leaves a space beneath the door open for the entrance of mice and other vermin but also leaves the door partially open in the event vandals or criminals seek to enter the garage. Frequently the garage space provides ready access to the house via a door which may have been left unlocked or which can easily be opened by a criminal in a space that is relatively hidden from the view of passersby.
While the presence of a ventilated section in a lower or other portion of a garage door is beneficial in ventilating garage space during hot weather, it is detrimental in ventilating the garage space in cold or inclement weather. Accordingly continued efforts have been directed to the development of a ventilated gate that can be automatically or manually raised into engagement with a garage door only when desired.